While I Was Gone
by susanlewis
Summary: An old friend comes back to Chicago and has to confront their past. chapter 3 is up chapter 4 coming soon!
1. Prologue

While I Was Gone ****

While I Was Gone

Prologue

Mark Greene heard a knock at his door. It was 1:55am and Elizabeth was not due home for another five hours. He stumbled to the front door still half asleep when it occurred to him that Elizabeth would have a key anyway, Mark was a little worried, What if something has happened to Elizabeth he thought. 

When he got to the door and looked through the peephole he got the shock of his life.

He recognised her straight away, Her dark blonde hair fell to her shoulders, her green eyes, her cute little nose and those beautiful lips, so full and soft. 

But when he looked again he was possibly even more shocked than the first time. There were tears running down her cheeks and her left eye was bruised and swollen, She had several bruises on her neck and the rest of her face. He looked down and saw a cast on her left arm. He immediately recognised her injuries as signs of physical abuse, he wanted to kill the person who had done this to her.

He opened the door and managed to whisper "Susan".


	2. Fear Of Flying

  
Chapter 2: Fear Of Flying.  
Susan's House. Phoenix, Arizona. 72 hours earlier:  
It was 1:20am. Susan knew that she was late. She was supposed to be home at 12:00am but a five-car pile-up on an expressway near the hospital meant she had to stay back.   
She knew that her husband, Div Cvetic would be angry, Div hated it when Susan was late. He was a control freak and frequently abusive, at first the abuse was only verbal but recently it had become physical and sexual.   
She was apprehensive as she opened the door to her house, "What if Div is still awake?" she thought to her self. As she opened the door she heard something moving and the next thing she knew she was on the ground blood running down her face.  
"Where have you been you slut." Div angrily demanded.  
"At work Div, there was a mass trauma and I had to help out," Susan replied truthfully.  
"Don't lie to me Susie" Div Yelled as he hit her again "You know how much I hate it when you lie to me"  
"I'm not lying Div". Susan was frightened, She watched him lean in and grabbed her arm, She screamed as she heard the crack of her arm breaking.  
"Shut up bitch" Div demanded as he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.  
"Div, Don't please Don't" Susan cried as he tossed her down on the bed and started removing her clothes.  
"I said shut up bitch" Div fumed as he jumped on top of her and grabbed her neck.  
"Alright just stop hurting me okay" Susan whispered terrified.  
"I'll do what I want to you, you whore" Div said as let go of her having finished what he had set out to do.  
Susan got up to leave when Div grabbed her and threw her against the wall of the kitchen; once she was down he kicked and punched her repeatedly until she was unconscious. Div then stormed out of the house muttering "The stupid whore got what she deserved.  
When Susan awoke five hours later she found herself unable to move; even the smallest movement caused her great pain. Susan then did what any doctor would do and started to assess her injuries, "Broken left radius, six broken ribs, multiple contusions and lacerations, shortness of breath, Susan realised what she had done, when she had attempted to sit up one of her broken ribs had punctured her lung causing a pneumothorax, I have to stay awake she thought, She looked at her watch, Chloe and little Susie will be here in 10 minutes, they can help me. I have to get out of Phoenix, Away form Div, Back to..." Susan had passed out,  
"Susie, Susie, are you there?" Chloe Lewis called to her younger sister, "Susie?" Chloe was worried; Susan was not the type to forget that she was supposed to be looking after little Susie. Chloe took the key that Susan had given her and opened the front door.   
"Susie, Susie where are you?" Chloe questioned anxiously.   
Little Susie who had ran ahead of her mother suddenly started screaming and crying "Mummy, mummy come here, Mummy please."   
"Hey Susie what's wrong honey?" called Chloe running in to the kitchen. What Chloe saw shocked her greatly, her older sister was lying unconscious on her kitchen floor bruised and bleeding.   
"Susie, Susan, wake up please Susie, please wake up, Susan" Chloe cried as she tried to shake Susan awake.   
"Hey Susie, come here and stay with Auntie Susie while I ring 911".   
"Auntie Susie, why wont you wake up?" little Susie whispered to her.  
Phoenix General Hospital, Phoenix Arizona 25 minutes later:  
"What have we got?" called Dr. Ellie Hugelmeyer, The ER attending at Phoenix General.   
"33 year old female, possibly been attacked, broken left radius, broken ribs, multiple contusions and lacerations, right pneumothorax, possible internal bleeding, B/P is 80/40, pulse 140, resps 45 and shallow' the paramedic replied.   
"Do we know her name?" Dr. Hugelmeyer asked the paramedic.   
"Yeah her sister made the call, names Dr. Susan Lewis, She is chief resident at Phoenix Memorial" the paramedic relayed to Dr. Hugelmeyer.   
"Thanks James" Dr. Hugelmeyer called to the paramedic as he left.  
"Susan, Dr. Lewis can you hear me?" asked Dr. Hugelmeyer.  
Susan did not respond to the doctor's voice.  
"Alright people lets get a CBC, Chem 7, Lytes, chest film, left arm film, head and spinal CT, and call surgery now! No breath sounds on the right, we have to relieve the pneumothorax now" Dr. Hugelmeyer continued,   
"Ally ring around to the other hospitals and see if they have any records on her".   
"You think she's been abused?" asked Ally Bleyerveen the head nurse in the ER.  
"More than likely" Dr. Hugelmeyer replied.  
"Breath Sounds normal" Said Dr. Hugelmeyer removing the needle that had been used to relieve the pneumothorax.  
"Who asked for a surgical consult?" questioned Dr. Andrew Morris as he ran in to the room   
"I did Andrew" Replied Dr. Hugelmeyer "33 year old female possibly needs surgery to repair her left radius and several ribs, possibly bleeding internally"  
"What happened to her?" Asked Dr. Morris  
Well" Dr. Hugelmeyer began before been cut off by Ally.  
"Dr. Hugelmeyer" she said breathlessly "several hospitals in the area have treated her in the last 12 months, broken leg form falling down the stairs and several visits for cuts and bruises. I just spoke to her sister, she thinks her husband did this."  
"Call the police Ally." Requested Dr. Hugelmeyer.  
"Already done" Ally replied  
"Dr. Hugelmeyer she's coming to" called Dr. Morris.  
"Susan do you know where you are?" asked Dr. Hugelmeyer.  
"Hospital" Susan whispered weakly.  
"Do you know what happened to you?" Asked Dr. Hugelmeyer gently.  
"Div" Susan Whispered bursting into tears.  
"Div Cvetic?" Questioned Ally.  
"Yeah" Susan whispered.  
"Did he hit you?" Ally asked.  
"Yeah, he, he, he..." Susan couldn't continue.  
"He what, Susan?" Ally enquired.   
"He raped me" Susan sobbed.  
"Who is Div Cvetic?" Asked Dr. Hugelmeyer.  
"My husband" Susan replied  
"He is a psychiatrist at Mercy, I worked there until last year, He was always abusive towards the nurses and residents" Ally added.  
"His wife too." Dr. Hugelmeyer said under her breath.  
"Dr. Hugelmeyer, I just got Susan's test results back, it would seem she does not need surgery after all" said Dr. Morris exiting the room.  
"That's good, now Susan we really need to do a rape kit is that ok?" Dr. Hugelmeyer questioned carefully.  
Susan just nodded the tears still streaming down her face.  
"All done now, would you like to see Chloe?" Asked Ally putting the last sample into a bag.  
"Yeah, just tell her to leave Susie outside, I don't want her to see me like this." Susan replied as she started to cry again.  
Chloe walked into the room and wrapped her arms around Susan.  
"Susie are you okay?" Chloe asked worriedly   
"Physically I should be fine in a couple of days but emotionally..." Susan trailed off.  
"Your safe now Susie." Chloe held Susan for about 10 minutes and let her cry.  
Finally Susan's tears stopped, she composed herself and to Chloe said "Get me a plane ticket for Chicago please."   
"WHAT!?" Chloe exclaimed  
"I have to leave Chloe I can't stay, Div could kill me for Christ sake he nearly did, I don't feel safe any more, I want to get as far away as I can I need to be around people who make me feel safe, I need mum and dad, I Need..." Susan trailed off.  
"Are you sure you can handle flying?" Chloe asked well aware of her sister's fear.  
"I am only about half as scared of flying as I am of Div" Susan whispered.  
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Chloe questioned.  
"Positive" Susan replied trying to force a smile.  
"Alright then when do you want to go?" Chloe asked.  
"I should be out of here in two days so buy my ticket for then." Susan replied.  
Two Days later, An airport in Phoenix Arizona.  
"Hey, Susie don't cry, you can come and see me in a few weeks when I settle in okay?" Susan said   
"Please don't go Auntie Susie I love you, I want you to stay here with us." Susie replied  
"Mummy can I go with Auntie Susie?" Susie asked Chloe crying  
"Not now honey, Auntie Susie has to sort out some things in Chicago so you can't go." Chloe replied.  
"Virgin Airlines Flight 676 Phoenix to Chicago now boarding" a voice called out over a loudspeaker.  
"That's me," Susan said nervously as she walked over to the boarding area.  
"Susie I'll miss you, give me a call when you get to your hotel." Chloe yelled out across the airport terminal.  
"Don't Go Auntie Susie, Don't go." Called out little Susie  
Susan turned around and looked at Chloe and Susie one more time before she gave her boarding pass to the flight attendant and got on the plane. Susan was feeling a mixture of feeling she had never felt before. She was apprehensive, happy, relieved, nervous, frightened and tense all at the same time. Susan looked back as the plane took off and began to cry. She was so angry with Div for destroying what she had created in Phoenix, for taking Little Susie away from her again, for hurting her and betraying her trust, for making her feel so scared and alone.  
Susan was so exhausted she fell asleep, the next thing she heard was "Flight 676 is landing at O'Hare Airport in 10 minutes." Despite all she had been through she smiled, she was coming home and as much as she hated the circumstances which had brought her there she was beginning to feel pretty good about it.  
...  
Susan did not know what had come over her, it was late, sometime in the early morning, but she had the sudden urge to this and do this now. She had been trying unsuccessfully to get to sleep for quite some time. Susan could not fall asleep every time she heard a noise she thought it was Div coming to get her, to kill her, even though the rational part of her brain knew better she got up and found the piece of paper she had written his address on and started running. When she got to his house she knocked on the front door, she realised why she had felt so good about coming home, it was him. As she heard him coming to the door she started to feel overwhelmed, all the emotion that she had suppressed over the last five years was beginning to surface, she knew that she could not hold it back any more, he opened the front door and whispered "Susan" and she flung her self at him unable to control her emotions any longer.   
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Take these Broken Wings

Chapter 3:Take These Broken Wings  
Mark just held Susan in his arms and let her cry. He had dreamed of the day when he would see her again but had never even in his worst nightmares had imagined anyone would ever be capable of doing this to Susan. Seeing her like this was hurting him more than when she had left.  
"Don't worry, cry if you want, your safe here, I will never hurt you never." Said Mark soothingly  
"Don't let go of me Mark, just don't let go" Susan sobbed.  
Susan was tired and scared but being in Mark's arms made her feel safe, she could trust Mark Greene with her life being with him despite the horrific circumstances that had brought them together again made her feel warm inside.  
Mark and Susan had been standing at his font door for 10 minutes now and it was a freezing November night so he invited her inside not really caring what Elizabeth would think when she got home in the morning, anyway he knew Elizabeth would understand.  
"Susan come inside, it is too cold for me and you to be standing here at the front door." Mark requested.  
"Ok Mark" Susan who still had her head buried in Mark's shoulder whispered.  
Mark, frightened of how Susan may react if he tried to let go of her gently lifted her up and carried her over to the lounge.  
"Susan, What happened to you? I'm sorry to ask but I really need to know." Mark asked softly.  
"Well, Well" she stopped, Susan had started to hyperventilate as a result of thinking about what had happened.  
"It is okay Susan, just breathe deeply, you don't have to tell me now, we'll talk later, wanna try and get some sleep?" Mark asked her trying to calm her down.  
"No Mark, I need to tell someone, I can't sleep anyway, every time I close my eyes I see him, I feel him, I hear him, I smell him." Susan replied breathlessly.  
"Susan, Who do you see? What did they do?" Mark prodded gently  
"Div Cvetic" Susan whispered beginning to cry again.  
"Div Cvetic as in the doctor you used to go out with, who left you on Christmas Eve 1994 after he got depressed and went psycho?" Mark asked surprised.  
"Yeah he had moved to Phoenix and I started seeing him again and we got married and he went off the rails again and he started hitting me and the he started raping me and the three nights ago he did this because I came home from work late." Susan said barely able to speak through her tears, which were falling a lot harder now.  
"Oh God Susan." Mark uttered astonished as he wrapped his arms around Susan's back and placed her head on his shoulder trying to comfort her, to make her feel safe.  
Ten minutes later Susan had stopped crying and was falling asleep on mark's shoulder.  
"Susan, do you want to go or do you want to stay here?' Mark asked her gently.  
"Can I stay here please?" Susan asked tiredly  
"Sure, lets get you up to the spare room and I'll see if I can find you some pyjamas." Mark replied.  
Mark went to his bedroom to retrieve a pair of Elizabeth's pyjamas for Susan to wear while Susan went to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.  
"Here you go Susan." Mark said handing Susan the pair of pyjamas he had found.  
"Thanks Mark, Who do these pyjamas belong to anyway, Their certainly not yours   
or at least I hope there not" joked Susan noting the floral pattern on the pyjamas.  
"Look Susan go to sleep now and we'll talk more in the morning" Mark replied yawning.  
"Will you stay here with me?" Asked Susan quietly  
"Of course I will Susan" Mark said getting into the bed "Now come on lets get some sleep."   
"thank you" Whispered Susan as she to got in to the bed and fell in to a restless sleep.  
...  
I was 6:50am when Elizabeth finally got home from work. It had been a hard shift and she was looking forward to cuddling up with Mark and getting some much- needed sleep. She opened the front door and let herself inside.   
The door slammed shut behind Elizabeth and the next thing she heard was a woman screaming. Elizabeth ran upstairs to find A woman in her early thirties sitting bolt upright in the guest bed next to Mark who had just woken up. Susan was shaking, terrified The door slamming had woken her up and she had forgotten where she was, she was sure that Div had come to get her.  
Elizabeth had recognised that the woman had been abused and instead of yelling at Mark she apologised to Susan.  
"I'm sorry I woke you up, I didn't know you were here." Elizabeth said quietly.  
"Elizabeth?" Mark questioned stunned.  
"Mark, who is she? What is she doing here? Elizabeth questioned.  
"Mark, You should have told me you were living with someone, I would have never stayed and I certainly would have not shared a bed with you." Susan interupeted blushing.  
"Elizabeth this is Susan Lewis, She is an old friend who needed my help and support through a difficult time." Mark explained.  
"Susan the reason I didn't tell you about Elizabeth is that I knew you would leave and I didn't want that." Mark told her.  
"Elizabeth will you stay with Susan today? I have to work and I don't want her to be alone." Mark asked Elizabeth.  
"Yeah sure" Elizabeth replied.   
  
  



End file.
